Soviets To Play Twice In Orlando

Last Year's Success Results In Rematch Against U.s. Collegians

The Soviets are coming back to Orlando for a couple of hockey games Dec. 18 and 19 against an all-star team of U.S. college players.

Last December, the collegians stunned Dynamo-Riga, 5-2, before a near-capacity house at Orlando Arena, and then tied the Soviets, 4-4, the next night at Dallas.

Because of the successful gate in Orlando, USA Hockey decided to have the collegians play Dynamo-Toga twice in Orlando this year.

''Hockey fans here seem to be very enthusiastic about this USA-USSR Challenge Series,'' said John S. Fohl, an official with Orlando Sports Inc., which is sponsoring and promoting the event.

Mike Sertich, hockey coach at the University of Minnesota-Duluth who will coach the USA team this year, said the USA collegians will play the Soviets much the same way they did last December for coach Shawn Walsh from the University of Maine.

''Just like last year, we'll have two days of practice as a team,'' Sertich said Monday at a press conference at the Omni Hotel. ''We won't even know the guys on our roster for a couple of weeks. They'll get in here on a Sunday night, get two workouts and have to be ready for Dynamo.''

Sertich's strategy will be to have his collegians knock the Soviets out of sync.

''They are a free-flowing team,'' Sertich said. ''They don't like to be interfered with. If you take them out of their patterns, they get frustrated. Our team knocked them on their butts last year, and we're going to try to do the same thing this year.''

Jeff Clark, chairman of Orlando Sports Inc., said this technique ''seemed to be enjoyable to the fans we had last year.''

Baaron Pittenger, the new executive director of USA Hockey, said the international competition will offer the U.S. players a good chance to nail a spot on the 1992 U.S. Olympic Hockey team.

''These games offer a splendid opportunity for our youngsters to prove their talent in international competition,'' Pittenger said. ''This is great experience for them, the real reason we play these games. The fans here not only will be seeing some future Olympians but guys who will someday skate in the National Hockey League.''

Both games at Orlando Arena will be televised by the Sunshine Network. The game Dec. 18 will have a two-hour delay. The game Dec. 19 will be televised live at 7:30 p.m. Sunshine's feed will be extended to 22 million homes via the Prime Network.

Tickets for the games, priced at $20, $17.50 and $15 are on sale at Orlando Arena and all Ticketmaster outlets. They may be ordered by telephone at (407) 839-3900, (904) 353-3309 or (813) 287-8844.